X-Men Origins: Magneto (DEAD)

[GreenScar]

Posted 5/10:

There's new movement on Magneto in the form of director rumors circling James McTeigue

THE roaring debut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been the launchpad for several other spin-offs getting the green light.

We've heard about a second Wolverine film, a Deadpool movie and a Gambit spin-off. And it now seems there is new movement on X-Men Origins: Magneto, a project that would explore the backstory of the magnetically-powered archvillain played in the X-Men trilogy by Ian McKellen.

Sources are now saying that James McTeigue is in negotiations to direct the movie, instead of David S. Goyer. And Internet Movie Database confirms this, with its listing for McTeigue saying he is in talks to take on Magneto.

As I mentioned yesterday, McTeigue is apparently also being sought to take on the Conan remake after Brett Ratner left the director's chair so it will be interesting to see which project he opts for, or whether he is able to do both. At one point, Children of Men director Alfonso Cuaron was also rumoured as a candidate for helming Magneto.

Sheldon Turner wrote the original screenplay for the Magneto film and when Goyer came on board he reworked it. He was also set to direct but has several other film projects o his plate including a movie sequel to H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. Fox may now be looking at other directors to get moving on the project.

I've seen the Goyer script and it was reasonably good - the dynamic and dialogue between Magneto and Xavier was spot on.

But it also had some questionable elements, as was suggested by a previous commenter on here at the time I reviewed the script . For instance, the story included a Nazi mad scientist experimenting on Magneto and other mutants to try to harness their abilities. We've now seen that already with Stryker in Wolverine.

In the script, Magneto's wife Magda dies in a fire started by a mob - whereas in the comics it plays out differently: Magneto saves Magda by revealing his powers and using them against the mob (although he is unable to save their daughter) but Magda then flees in terror at his display of destructive force.

That hurtful rejection for being different adds to the Holocaust in being another part of what shapes his character. It also leaves his wife to go on and give birth to the mutant twins Pietro aka Quicksilver (who we appear to see in Wolverine as one of the captives at Stryker's base) and Wanda aka Scarlet Witch. You can see Quicksilver on the right in the image below from the Wolverine movie. (Article continues below image)

Emma,-Cyclops,-Quicksilver.jpg

Without a mad scientist experimenting on him at Auschwitz, Magneto would need another, better motivation to become a terrorist. Here's where we could see the later, post-war capture, abuse and enslavement of mutants by another entity.

Possible candidates from the source material might be: the Nazi terrorist group Hydra (which features in the comic book origin of Magneto); the mutant-enslaving advanced nation Genosha, which could perhaps be shown trading mutants for its technology; or the elite society The Helllfire Club with their mutant-hunting robots called Sentinels.

Any of those could feature in the film as a powerful corporation working for the government (or a collection of several governments, similar to the UN) to resolve the mutant 'problem.' For instance, in the comics, the government purchased Sentinels from The Hellfire Club for its Project Wideawake initiative to capture mutants.

And perhaps a dramatic moment could see Magneto finding out that one or more of the 'Dr Death' characters from the Nazi prison camps were now working for the corporation. Terrorism usually results from a reaction to the ongoing policies of a system in power, so it would need to go far beyond what the Nazis were doing during the war. The Nazis just sowed the seeds of hate in Magneto's mind; continued mutant exploitation would be needed for his hate and distrust to spill over into a life of anti-government villainy and terrorism.

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner recently confirmed that internal discussions were taking place about the Magneto movie. Now we just need some more official news on the progress of this project...

Read below for the official synopsis of the movie. Source

The synopsis for X-Men Origins: Magneto has appeared in Production Weekly. It gives a backstory of the youthfull metal-controlling mutant, who was portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen in the X-Men movies.
The Magneto movie, currently under development, will be directed by David Goyer, who wrote the screenplay which was leaked earlier this year. Goyer is a busy man these days, but he says he will get around to this film project after The Invisible Man.

McKellen is listed as a cast member for the movie, but will not be headlining as the star will need to be much younger, but he is expected to 'book-end' the movie with narrative and perhaps a cameo appearance.

Here is the official synopsis for the movie, as listed by subscription trade mag Production Weekly...

"The original X-Men film began with a prologue that showed the character as a child being led to a concentration camp by Nazis and that is the period in which the Magneto film will take place. This setup will allow a future villain to at least flirt with the designation of protagonist since the character will be seen almost exclusively in his formative years."

"The storyline will heavily involve Professor X, the wheelchair-using X-Men leader. That character was a soldier in the allied force that liberated the concentration camps. The professor meets Magneto after the war and while they bond over the realisation that they are alike in their special powers, their differences soon turn them into enemies."

[GoYanks]

huh. this should be interesting. What's the world with the wolverine one? I'm still not sold on the whole franchise going into origin stories. I see this backfiring for the studios big time. I would prefer a 4th title instead of all this backstory bull.

[Drewza89]

I've been saying all along that this sounds like a box-office bomb waiting to happen. How many people other than die-hard X-Men fans are going to want to go see a movie about a villain? It could work for universally loved villains like Venom or the Joker, but it won't work for Magneto.

[MarkJ801]

This would be way way cooler than the Wolverine one

[MLK]

Originally Posted by GoYanks

huh. this should be interesting. What's the world with the wolverine one? I'm still not sold on the whole franchise going into origin stories. I see this backfiring for the studios big time. I would prefer a 4th title instead of all this backstory bull.

Yeah, but after the events that happened in the 3rd travesty of x-men 3, i dont know if a 4th one would be that great. the first two were great though.

[UKTruBlu]

Originally Posted by Drewza89

I've been saying all along that this sounds like a box-office bomb waiting to happen. How many people other than die-hard X-Men fans are going to want to go see a movie about a villain? It could work for universally loved villains like Venom or the Joker, but it won't work for Magneto.

It did work for the Joker, the ark knight is a Joker movie imho.

[GreenScar]

The movie will heavily feature Charles Xavier as well. It all comes down to story and execution.

[Moefiz]

Thats not a bad story to explore the origins of both of the them now that it is set in 40's it would be good to have a cameo's of some of the 40's marvel character that fought in the war also.
Nick Fury and the Howling Comandos
The Invaders...

[Newby1080p]

Originally Posted by mnx12

This would be way way cooler than the Wolverine one

+1

[PS3-Playb3yond]

I thought they gave up on this one. Sounds good to me.

[chnandler_bong]

I will subscribe to all the X-Men Origins movies, especially this one!

Does anyone know if the story in this movie sounds like canon (not that it matters to me)?

[GeneD5]

I will really look forward to this...I've loved X-men for a long, long time now though...

[mikejet]

This better have Captain America in it.

[supersix4]

yeah I think a back story on magneto could be good seeing him go nuts on people with the powers

[GreenScar]

There's new movement on Magneto in the form of director rumors circling James McTeigue

THE roaring debut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been the launchpad for several other spin-offs getting the green light.

We've heard about a second Wolverine film, a Deadpool movie and a Gambit spin-off. And it now seems there is new movement on X-Men Origins: Magneto, a project that would explore the backstory of the magnetically-powered archvillain played in the X-Men trilogy by Ian McKellen.

Sources are now saying that James McTeigue is in negotiations to direct the movie, instead of David S. Goyer. And Internet Movie Database confirms this, with its listing for McTeigue saying he is in talks to take on Magneto.

As I mentioned yesterday, McTeigue is apparently also being sought to take on the Conan remake after Brett Ratner left the director's chair so it will be interesting to see which project he opts for, or whether he is able to do both. At one point, Children of Men director Alfonso Cuaron was also rumoured as a candidate for helming Magneto.

Sheldon Turner wrote the original screenplay for the Magneto film and when Goyer came on board he reworked it. He was also set to direct but has several other film projects o his plate including a movie sequel to H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. Fox may now be looking at other directors to get moving on the project.

I've seen the Goyer script and it was reasonably good - the dynamic and dialogue between Magneto and Xavier was spot on.

But it also had some questionable elements, as was suggested by a previous commenter on here at the time I reviewed the script . For instance, the story included a Nazi mad scientist experimenting on Magneto and other mutants to try to harness their abilities. We've now seen that already with Stryker in Wolverine.

In the script, Magneto's wife Magda dies in a fire started by a mob - whereas in the comics it plays out differently: Magneto saves Magda by revealing his powers and using them against the mob (although he is unable to save their daughter) but Magda then flees in terror at his display of destructive force.

That hurtful rejection for being different adds to the Holocaust in being another part of what shapes his character. It also leaves his wife to go on and give birth to the mutant twins Pietro aka Quicksilver (who we appear to see in Wolverine as one of the captives at Stryker's base) and Wanda aka Scarlet Witch. You can see Quicksilver on the right in the image below from the Wolverine movie. (Article continues below image)

Emma,-Cyclops,-Quicksilver.jpg

Without a mad scientist experimenting on him at Auschwitz, Magneto would need another, better motivation to become a terrorist. Here's where we could see the later, post-war capture, abuse and enslavement of mutants by another entity.

Possible candidates from the source material might be: the Nazi terrorist group Hydra (which features in the comic book origin of Magneto); the mutant-enslaving advanced nation Genosha, which could perhaps be shown trading mutants for its technology; or the elite society The Helllfire Club with their mutant-hunting robots called Sentinels.

Any of those could feature in the film as a powerful corporation working for the government (or a collection of several governments, similar to the UN) to resolve the mutant 'problem.' For instance, in the comics, the government purchased Sentinels from The Hellfire Club for its Project Wideawake initiative to capture mutants.

And perhaps a dramatic moment could see Magneto finding out that one or more of the 'Dr Death' characters from the Nazi prison camps were now working for the corporation. Terrorism usually results from a reaction to the ongoing policies of a system in power, so it would need to go far beyond what the Nazis were doing during the war. The Nazis just sowed the seeds of hate in Magneto's mind; continued mutant exploitation would be needed for his hate and distrust to spill over into a life of anti-government villainy and terrorism.

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner recently confirmed that internal discussions were taking place about the Magneto movie. Now we just need some more official news on the progress of this project...

[iori]

I will be excited for this one

[GreenScar]

Originally Posted by DVDave

Alright, these Origin spinoffs are getting out of hand. This film will be like Diary of Anne Frank meets X-Men. They should just make another X-Men film instead of branching off every character into a franchise.

I'm sure the plan will be to stagger these throughout the next 4 or 5 years. They make more money this way (than doing straight X-Men sequels).

[fighthefutureofhd]

they don't need mutant rejects to sell this as an x-men film. it's about magneto. he was an x-men and one of their main villains. you don't need anything else.

[Sussudio]

magneto and prof X's love/hate relationship was one of the best things about the xmen movies imo...i would love to see how this began and built up to the point that it exists in xmen 1.

what is unfortunate is i see a Magneto movie as more of a "Hannibal Rising"...they obviously couldn't use ian mckellen in the entire thing since it is about his beginnings so i assume they'd have to cast a new actor...could be good, could be bad. just have to wait and see

[xtop]

Originally Posted by DVDave

Alright, these Origin spinoffs are getting out of hand. This film will be like Diary of Anne Frank meets X-Men. They should just make another X-Men film instead of branching off every character into a franchise.

more complaining from dvdave? no way! only thing the thread is missing now is wolverine to come in here with his green arrow to say he's not seeing this movie...

i think a villan movie could be fun. i'll give them one chance with a villan